Backspace Key Not Working in PuTTY

Rai    Linux     Linux, putty, ssh, suse, unix, vim, windows

If you access your Linux machines from a Windows workstations by SSH, most probably you are using PuTTY. My new job requires me to work with SUSE Enterprise servers and to my surprise, the VIM on SLES is somewhat different from that of RHEL.

One example is the backspace key. It just won’t work in PuTTY connecting to SUSE server. I have to put the cursor before the character I want to delete and press the DELETE key. If you have this issue with PuTTY/SUSE too, this tip might help you.

Go to your PuTTY configuration -> Terminal -> Keyboard

Look for Change Sequences Sent By -> The Backspace Key

From there, select Control-H. Save your session and try it.

This one worked for me, hope this works for you too.

Tip: Prevent SSH Session from Disconnecting

Rai    Linux     connection, disconnecting, keepalive, Linux, prevent, ssh, tip

The network connection at office keeps my SSH session from running smoothly. Well, it means I keep on being disconnected from the server when my SSH session turns idle for a certain period of time. It gets annoying especially if I am in the middle of a script running silently.

One alternative I have written before here is using screen command or by editing the SSH config file to prevent SSH from disconnecting its connection.

The process is very simple: your SSH session consistently sends packets over the connection to let the remote computer know that the session is still active and there is no need for termination. This is what they call Keep Alive packets. For me, it means Keep My Sanity packets.

Anyway here is what you need to do. Edit your ssh_config file, usually in /etc/ssh/ directory:

# vi /etc/ssh/ssh_config

And put this line in the file:

ServerAliveInterval 60

Save and exit.

Open the ~/.ssh/config file (or create it if not present) and put this line in it:

Host *
ServerAliveInterval 60

Don’t forget the indent at the second line. Save and exit.

Lastly, reload your new SSH config file by doing:

# /etc/init.d/sshd reload

This should do the trick of fooling the remote server into thinking that your SSH connection is active, even if it is not.

Did this tip worked for you? Let me know in the comments section.

Secure Telnet

Rai    Linux, Random     Linux, pragma systems, remote connection, shell, ssh, telnet

If you are looking for secure connectivity, I am sure that there a lot of free and open source softwares that you can use. But if you are looking for services that are backed with real customer support, then visit Pragma Systems and check their services.
read more